Imikan Attah, a chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC) and a community leader in Akwa Ibom State, is also the national President of the Women of Buhari in Nigeria (WOBIN). Ms. Attah who is a trained journalist, in this interview, speaks on issues of national importance. Excerpts:

By Abdulwahab Abdulah

How can you access the performance of the government of the All Progressive Congress (APC) at the federal level?

It is too early for us to assess the government. Personally, I will state that the government has taken steps in the right direction so far. Let’s look at the government from the present situation of fuel scarcity. Indeed, it’s painful.

However, restructuring and unbundling of the NNPC is something that no other President has had the courage to do. President Muhammadu Buhari has stepped up to do that.

Imikan Attah

The scarcity may be painful now, but it is a temporary pain for a permanent solution. So, the present unbundling is necessary for a tidy situation. So whatever that got missing will be accountable for.

Let me give you example it was when Buhari came in and said no, we have to stop the corruption that you saw one of these anti corruption agencies handing cheques of recovered money to the President. This had never happened. The highest thing is that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, will parade suspects in the day and that ends it. Now the situation has changed, the mention of Buhari is the beginning of wisdom.

To you now, the unbundling of the NNPC will bring succour to the system?

Yes, I think it is a step in right direction. So, we should let us see where it will lead us positively. At least now people will be held accountable. You don’t give people appointment only to see them blowing siren without doing anything. You are to do the work and be accountable for what you do.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been carrying out its job like never before in terms of eliminating corruption, but the body has been accused of trampling on peoples’ right. What do you have to say about this?

To me, EFCC is not living up to the expectation in the minds of majority of Nigerians. To the legal maxim which says, if you must go to equity, you must go with clean hands. Let them assess or investigate the assets of the past leadership of the body. Let us see how clean they are. If you are clean, then you will be able to go after other persons. So, the new EFCC has to clean up their own table and will be able to go out for others.

Coming to your home state Akwa-Ibom. In what area do you want the governor to focus on now?

For now what he is focussing on is the industrialisation of the state. The industrialisation involves not just the companies but the people. I think there should be less on building of roads, let us have focus on people oriented project and programmes. So far, this is what he has chosen as top priority. As it is Akwa-Ibom is just a civil service state. Though it is a major oil producing state, so what? What does it have to show for this. Let the governor add little value at one point or the other which we have not be doing.

Supporters of the former National Security Adviser, NSA, Sambo Dasuki, who is on trial have cried out that he is being victimised due to his past military relationship with the President. What is your take on this?

Let me tell you a little about Dasuki as concerning Akwa Ibom State politics. There were about 23 candidates contesting for the PDP governorship slot in the state, 22 of them were like independent candidates and one of them was being imposed on the others. And everyone was saying let’s just have a level playing ground. But to our surprise, it was as if the incumbent governor, then, was having interest in a candidate.

Now, the aggrieved ones decided to visit Abuja to meet the party leader who was President Goodluck Jonathan. The people were kept waiting for weeks by Dasuki.

Every couple of days, he will come around to inform them that they should hold on and that they will see the president. Why was he doing that? As a national security adviser, a war is going on in a part of the country, it was Akwa Ibom PDP primaries that was your priority.